Euphoric. Surreal. Amazing.
These are the words members of the West Virginia University “Pride of West Virginia,” the Mountaineer Marching Band, use to describe their feelings about their upcoming appearance in the 98th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The parade will step off at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 28, in New York City.
“The Pride” — making its second parade appearance since 2016 — is one of 11 marching bands joining 22 balloons, 34 floats, 28 performers, 11 performance groups and 28 clown crews in this year’s parade, which follows a 2.5-mile route between Central Park West and Macy’s Herald Square.
“Learning that we were going to Macy’s was unreal,” said Maddie Alix, a junior forensic science major and trumpet player from Fairmont. “I still really don’t believe it.”
From an early interest in music, Alix found her community within the Mountaineer Marching Band and thrived in a band leadership role while representing her community and the entire Mountain State.
“There’s a reason we’re called ‘The Pride of West Virginia,’” she said. “People love us.”
Hear more from Maddie in The Pride’s Journey to Macy’s, Episode 1.
Mikayla McNair, a sophomore psychology and biology major from Chesapeake, Virginia, was initially unsure about a leadership role in the band but took the leap and is thriving as drum major.
“The last time I was in New York, I was five. I remember meeting Spiderman and that was about it. Going to be a part of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is something completely out of this world and something I never thought I’d be able to do,” McNair said.
“I know it’s a big deal. It’s a big deal for ‘The Pride,’ it’s a big deal for my family and it’s a big deal for the University as a whole.”
Hear more from Mikayla in The Pride’s Journey to Macy’s, Episode 2.
Jakob Fedele from Princeton recognized early on how important “The Pride” was to the Mountain State. Now a mechanical and aerospace engineering major and a saxophone player in his senior year, Fedele is preparing for the parade and inspiring future Mountaineers.
“I never thought I’d be at Macy’s in the Thanksgiving Day Parade,” Fedele said. “We’d always watch it. ‘The Pride’ went in 2016 and I was like, ‘That’s cool.’ I was like, ‘I get to be a part of a band that said they have been to Macy’s.’ And then when they announced it last year, I was like, ‘Oh, wow.’ And we were just jumping for joy. I mean, it’s kind of indescribable.”
Hear more from Jakob in The Pride’s Journey to Macy’s, Episode 3.
Will Burton, a senior biology major and tuba player from Morgantown, recalls watching the parade as a child.
“I can’t imagine how much joy I’ll feel whenever the band stops at Herald Square and we’re able to play for the whole world to see. It’ll feel amazing,” Burton said.
“It’ll mean so much to represent the state of West Virginia in front of a national audience. And it’s not just West Virginia I’m representing, but all my friends and all the people who got me to here and to be me right now. I am eternally grateful to them, and to be a part of this with my best friends in band, to go and stop there and play is going to be amazing for me.”
Hear more from Will in The Pride’s Journey to Macy’s, Episode 4.
NBC will broadcast the parade and it will also be streamed on Peacock.
“The Pride” was selected from hundreds of band applications submitted from across the United States, an announcement that was made in fall 2023.
Fundraising efforts continue through the WVU Foundation, the nonprofit organization that receives and administers private donations on behalf of the University, to support “The Pride’s” trip to the parade.
